Abbreviations...Pet peeve....

[livingentity]

in another thread a guest wrote:

 

i was saying that it is not good to write ACBSP or SP or SBST or KC or GM or BT

write complete names, they're mantras

 

 

Thank you!!! I have also seen people use HK for Hare Krsna and HKHKKKHHHRHRRRHH for the maha mantra!!!

 

Personally, I find this offensive and lazy! Next they will be walking up to people and saying "HK"!!

 

There is nectar in the names of our acaryas and the Holy Names - both for the the writer/speaker and the reader/listener.

 

 

[Guest guest]

Nothing personal, and I respect your opinion, but many do not *intend* it as an offense, and as one devotee told me, "when I see PAMHO, I never read pamho, but always READ it as 'Please accept my humble obeisances. Don't you?" And yes, I do!

 

Emails and message boards are not the same as long hand snail mail either, and sometimes we dont have time, so we post quickly, and maybe would not post transcendental subject matter if we had to type out these things. I suggest everyone calm down a bit or not let themsleves be fanatical (no accusations here), relax, and try to see the good and assume the best instead of the worst.

 

However, I will agree with HK. Thats pushing it!

[livingentity]

in my post so not sure why you brought it up. That is not the subject of my post.

 

I only mentioned abbreviating our acaryas names and the Holy Names of the Lord. Abbreviating Them is offensive and we must take into consideration the newbies who do not know what is meant by these abbreviations.

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I agree with you completely, prabhu. Too easy to become casual on these forums. Devotion takes time and careful attentiveness. Thanks for the reminder!

[Haridham]

.....why is the word abbriviation so long? The word that means that something short for something is so long.

[gHari]

 

Not that anyone would offer me their obeisances, but when it has come to me as a mass mailing, I have been less than impressed. AGTSP.

 

Sorry, nobody is that pressed for nanoseconds in my book. If they think are, then they should sit down and contemplate the uncontrollable hankerings of raja guna, and try to rise above it.

 

Simple living. Abbreviations are for the mudha.

 

[sudhaya]

 

/\_0 for 'Please Accept my Humble Obiences'

 

____0 for 'Dandavts'

 

\0/\0/ for 'Nitai-Gaura!'

 

The last one is my favourite. Inspired indeed.

[Krsnanatha]

I complete concur. Although time is a prized commodity, when we hit a point where it is too troublesome to take the 2.7 seconds it takes to type the name Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada or the name of any other saint worthy of notation or discussion some important type of consciousness has been disposed of.

I remember many years ago at LA temple it became briefly fashionable amongst some in the community to greet people with the phrase "H-Bol, Prabhu".

I always thought the folks inclined to abbreviate the Lord's Holy Name down to a single "H" sound were serving out some notably distinct punishment.

Oddly enough I also recall many of the same retailers of this "H-Bol" utterance had plenty of extra time to speak at length of the fault's ISKCON and managed to do so using no abbreviations whatsoever.

[livingentity]

PAMHO does not impress me and but it does not disturb me as much cuz it does not contain the Holy Names but AGTSP bugs me as does the other abbreviations of the Holy Names.

 

How lazy!!!

[livingentity]

Now back to the subject at hand which is the offensive laziness of abbreviating the Holy Names and the sweet names of our Acaryas.

 

As for H_bol - it would be difficult for me to remain quiet on that one if someone greeted me with it.

 

That is as bad as Xmas to me which I always found offensive also.

 

It makes me wonder just why the perpetrators find it so difficult and time-consuming to say or type the Lord's names. Hmmm....??

 

[Guest guest]

i know some people so ill that typing is hard for them,where do they stand?

[Guest guest]

Haribol. I was vocal against this practice when I first started internettin, but after a good person described why he did it, I relented (Im speaking of pamho and agtsp, nothin else). Internettin is kinda like shorthand, especially when others are waitin to use the machine (libraries, innernet cafes, etc.)

 

I do draw the line on SP, and I am really bugged by those who insist on placing ACBSP after their names, or the initials of other gurus. I dont think this is apporopriate because Srila Prabhupada doesnt have BSP after his name, this is a made up thing that is not necessary and serves no purpose. My dead mother used to write HK referring to my chosen path, and it was a source of pain, showing that she couldnt utter His name, meaning what? Yall know, so respect of the names of God and his devotees means uttering these names. HKHKKKHHHRHRRRHH is NOT the mahamantra.

 

haribol, ys, mahaksadasa

[Avinash]

For many years I used both "Christmas" and "Xmas". I do not know which one I used more often. I was under impression that both the words are synonyms. I was not even aware that the word "Xmas" can be considered as offensive. In fact, I was not even aware that it was an abbreviation. I just considered it as another word, which was a synonym of "Christmas". This is true not only with me but with many others in India as well. In fact, I have found that in India the people who speak English a lot use the word "Xmas" more often than "Christmas". I am only talking about those with whom I have interacted. If somebody does a survey to find out which of the two words the English speaking people in India use more often, then their finding may be similar to mine or completely opposite. But, as I said, I am just talking of the people I have interacted with. Years back, when I was in school, then I used to feel that "Christmas" was a Hindi word and the equivalent English word was "Xmas". Latter on I came to know that both the words can be used in English and, thereafter, I started using both of these words.

 

One day, in this forum, I read a post through which I came to know that the word "Xmas" is considered as offensive by many. After that I have stopped using this word. After all, when I have known that it is offensive, I felt it bad to continue using this word. Now I always say "Christmas".

[Guest guest]

I too prefer Christmas, but the X in Xmas can be a reminder of Christ's sacrifice on the cross(X). That's just my own way of coping with it, though I still don't use the word myself.

[Guest guest]

"Sorry, nobody is that pressed for nanoseconds in my book. If they think are, then they should sit down and contemplate the uncontrollable hankerings of raja guna, and try to rise above it."

 

Right on! Hip, cool, with-it or whatever is not what our particular society is about. Informality must have it's limits and familiarity breeds disrespect. All our actions should promote Krsna CONSCIOUSNESS both within ourselves and others as well.

 

Seems to me, capitalizing is the least we can offer on the internet to saintly souls and the Holy Names. I prefer the use of Sri and Srila too, though not the entire paramahamsa spiel which appears ostentatious at times. BTW, I'm not fond of \o/ either, but then I'm just an old fogey the computer world has passed by.

[livingentity]

To me X signifies crossing Christ out of Christmas which is what most people do each year when they celebrate Christmas only as a day of greed and gluttony instead of a Holy day.

 

Don't cross Christ out.

[Guest guest]

 

To me X signifies crossing Christ out of Christmas which is what most people do each year when they celebrate Christmas only as a day of greed and gluttony instead of a Holy day.

 

 

Duly noted, however we rise above not to spit on those below. "Judge not, that ye be not judged..." Have YOU chanted today? Do YOU always practice what you preach? We all have our own consciences to remind us, devotees especially so, thank you very much.

[livingentity]

is my reminder to myself that what I post should be true and honest to what I also do.

 

If anyone takes offense to my signature then perhaps they need to also look within themselves.

 

Not sure why you spit at me because I prefer to see Christmas rather than Xmas. What is your problem?

 

And only because you ask - Yes, I chant at least 16 rounds each and every morning before I even turn on my computer.

 

So look in the mirror before you spit at people....and it would help if you got a NAME!

 

 

 

 

[gHari]

I looked to see if it had made it into the American Heritage dictionary:<blockquote>X·mas (kr¹s“mas, eks“mas) n. Usage Problem. Christmas. [From X, the Greek letter chi, abbreviation of Khristos, Christ. See CHRIST.]

————————————————————

USAGE NOTE: Xmas has been used for hundreds of years in religious writing, where the X is understood to represent a Greek chi, the first letter of Christo, “Christ”; in this use it is parallel to other forms like Xtian, “Christian.” But the letter X, or especially x, is nowadays more frequently interpreted as a mathematical variable than as a Greek letter, as indicated by the common pronunciation of the form Xmas as (eks“mas). Thus, while the word is etymologically innocent of the charge that it omits Christ from Christmas, it is now generally understood only as an informal shortening. In an earlier survey 88 percent of the Usage Panel rejected the use of Xmas in writing.

 

Newest On-line Definition</blockquote>

I don't like it either; perhaps because those I see use it have indeed removed Christ from Christmas.

 

We have removed prayer from our schools and now the future has gone to hell. Surely they can let us have at least this one day.

[krsna]

Practice What You Preach

 

 

You can know all the scriptures,

Have all the sanskrit you can reach,

But when push comes to shove

Do you practice what you preach?

 

Anyone can go to the temple

And collapse on the floor,

But when Judgment Day comes

Will you be at Vaikuntha's door?

 

You can have the biggest of fits

And say the Krishna' mercy passed through,

But is that really reflected

In the things you do?

 

You can yell far and wide

Proclaiming your love for Prabhupada,

But what have you given him

When for you He gave his life for preaching?

 

You can lecture others

About the wrong things they do,

But before you look at others

You need to look at you.

 

You can damn all the sinners

Tell them they're headed to patala,

But what have you done lately

Besides run your mouth-la la la?

 

You can call yourself a devotee

Spend all your days at the temple,

But while you are praising His name,

Have you been doing the Lord's devotional service?

 

You can boast of good service

To show us the bhakti is within

But why show it to us?

You should show it to Him!

 

You can memorize the Gita

Know it from front to back,

But you don't use it to regulate others

Regulate how you act!

 

Take a good look at yourself

Not at what others do,

Because when Krishna comes to get his children ...

Will He be coming for you too?

 

Author Unknown /images/graemlins/grin.gif /images/graemlins/grin.gif /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Guest guest]

Haribol, good definition, gHari. I gotta good idea, Xmas may still be celebrated, but it can stand for the appearance day of Malcolm X, who was a very gifted teacher in his own right. I wonder what his stance would be today.

 

hare krsna, ys, mahaksadasa

[Bhaktavasya]

 

As I read about most people being annoyed over abbreviations, I squirmed a bit, having being 'guilty' of using initials and letters for Srila Prabhupad (SP) and even Hare Krishna (HK) but then I have to come clean and say that no offense was intended; it was usually the result of typing something that refered to certain personalities and the Hare Krishna movement many times in a long paragraph. I actually never realized some devotees would be offended by it.

I'm hesitant to say this, but isn't it a little bit nit-picking to take offense when at least the person is thinking about Krishna (even someone's mother who used HK) rather than a million other things unrelated to Krishna.

 

I'm just saying that most people who use abbrev. don't mean any offense..we committ so many offenses to each other consciously and unconsciously. Maybe we shouldn't take offense so easily.

 

 

[Guest guest]

i simply would follow the example of the elders.. did srila prabhupada or other acharyas use abbreviations even if in unofficial or confidential dealings?

 

 

(i'm against.... at the initiation the names of krsna are given to make them vibrate giving spiritual relief to the owners and the ones who relationate with them.. if Krsna Das turns in KD what's the use of changing the name by the guru maharaja?)

[Guest guest]

"Relationate"??? Would that be the good vibes we get when our relationship is on key? A more personal connection with the maha-mantra? I kinda like it...

[Bhaktavasya]

 

Yes he did, in is own name; A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami